My First Time in California!

This last weekend I was able to go to Northern California. I was only invited to come along to be an extra driver... I probably would have declined if it were not for the fact that I had never been to Cali before. Becca, my sister, decided that she had a little crush on a boy named Steven. The main problem with Steven is that he lives in California! Well because of this little crush, Becca decided to move to San Jose to date this boy... Things got really stressful right before the move. Becca's car ended up braking and now she has my mom's car. We got to cali after a long day of driving. At first I just thought how beautiful the area was and then reality struck and I did not find it beautiful later on... The traffic is deadly! I helped move Becca into her house she is renting at and then went to meet Steven's family and stay with them for the weekend. They were all very nice. I think she will be in very good hands there. Saturday was my favorite day, because we got to go explore and have fun. We went to Half Moon Bay and it was so wonderful! It gave a great view of the Pacific Ocean. The sand was pretty clean as well. I had a lot of fun taking pictures and wading in the water. A few times the waves got a little too strong and I was afraid I would be swimming in the water. The drive to the beach was so wonderful. Then we decided to venture on to San Francisco. As much as I enjoyed my time there, this trip might have been a mistake for the traffic there was impossible. I had to shut my eyes many times to prevent hyperventilating! We went to Golden Gate Park. That was so absolutely wonderful. It was pretty and the Japanensee Tea Gardens were quite beautiful. Then we went to another beach and saw the Golden Gate Bridge. Unfortunatly the bridge was mostly covered by fog, but we still got the idea. I also saw Alcatraz! It would have been nice to take a tour through the prison but we were limited in time. We tried to do San Fran in a day. Walking back to our car from the bridge we saw a gay couple holding hands. Mom said that this completed her San Fran experience. We then went to Lumbard Street. For those that have not heard of it or seen it... It is the craziest street ever! It is so steep they had to make it curve all the way down. It is so cool to see! We attempted to go downtown, but that quickly became a lost cause because traffic was so horrible and my camera had already died so I wouldn't be able to take pictures anyway. Steven then took us to Oakland. We went to event at a great resturaunt. I don't remember the name but their ice cream was so yummy! Then we went to the Oakland temple. I have seen this temple in pictures many times, but none of those pictures truly describes the beauty of this temple. It almost put me to tears. Sunday was the hardest part of the trip. The time came where I had to say goodbye to Becca. I know I had to say goodbye to her for her mission, but for some reason this was harder for me. I knew that this was a beginning of a new chapter in her life, and the decisions she makes now will effect the rest of her life. I want to see her happy more than anything, but at the same time I miss having my sisters to myself. If she ends up staying in Cali a long time she better promise a few trips home for sister time! I miss her already! Well, that about sums up my trip! It was short, busy, but fun! Now on to my next adventure... What ever it may be...